How many servers does it take to change an operating system?

By now, many organizations are in the early or mid-stages of planning their Windows 10 migration, which will involve transferring potentially the largest installation package ever (which could be 3GB or more) to every PC in the organization, in every location.

Transferring such a huge amount of data is bound to have an impact on the network, which in turn can negatively impact the business and frustrate users. To avoid this, many organizations will turn to adding network capacity or increasing the number of servers to act as distribution points in remote offices.

Of course additional hardware means additional cost. Not just the initial outlay to purchase the kit, but also in deployment, configuration and ongoing maintenance. Organizations taking this approach will have to balance this additional cost against some of the benefits of moving to Windows 10, such as the new security features.

But organizations that do go down this route could be wasting huge amounts of money, as adding hardware isn’t necessary. In fact, you can actually complete your Windows 10 migration in record time, while actively reducing the number of servers in your IT infrastructure.

How? Well, 1E’s Nomad uses Peer-to-Peer technology to backup user settings and data locally, and then download the package to a suitable device. It then uses ‘fan-out’ distribution to transfer the package to all of the other devices in the same location. Because the Windows 10 package is only ever downloaded once this reduces the pressure on the network to complete the migration, and because it’s downloaded to a set of existing computers working as a peer-to-peer network there’s no need for a Distribution Point (DP) server at the location.

Nomad also uses ReverseQoS™ to monitor and manage the constantly changing network – actively managing bandwidth usage when the network is in use. This ensures the network is never negatively impacted as a result of delivering the Windows 10 image.

What’s more, Nomad automates the entire process – eliminating the need for the majority of desk-side visits and drastically reducing the time and effort of moving to Windows 10. Uniquely, this also includes the switch from BIOS to UEFI, which is essential to take advantage of the new security features in Windows 10.

And Nomad isn’t there just for the initial Windows 10 migration. You can use exactly the same process for delivering all of your ongoing upgrades, rebuilds, applications and updates – including Office 365 and the ongoing updates in the new Windows 10 servicing model.